The use of endotracheal tubes to effect artificial ventilation of a patient's lungs is a common medical procedure. Such tubes can be inserted thought a nostril or mouth of a patient. However, once the endotracheal tube is inserted, difficulties can arise in stabilizing the position of the tube such that it is not inadvertently removed, and such that movement of the tube does not cause discomfort to the patient. Accordingly, attempts have been made to devise endotracheal tube holding devices which secure the position of the tube once it has been inserted. Certain examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,009,227; 4,774,944; 4,744,358; 4,489,723; 4,351,311; 4,249,529; and 3,927,676. Further, the Dale Endotracheal Tube Holder, manufactured by Dale Medical Products, Inc., of Plainville, Mass., is an example of such a device. However, the various holding devises have proven to be either ineffective for holding the tube in place, difficult to use, and/or expensive. Further, such devices are rarely suitable for use with both oral exiting tubes and nasal exiting tubes. Therefore, commonly the medical caretaker will improvise and use an adhesive tape method whereby a length of adhesive tape is wrapped around the patient's head, then split into two segments, and the segments are wrapped around the tube, with the remaining tape ends secured across the lip or over the nose of the patient. But, the adhesive tape rarely stays bonded to the skin or the tube for the desired length of time, particularly where silicone tubing is being utilized. In this regard, silicone is becoming the preferred fabricating material for endotracheal tubes, but adhesive tape does not bond well with the surface of a silicone tube. Other tube holding devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,932,9434; 836,200; 5,037,397; 4,823,789; 3,046,989; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 310,721; 5,215,532; 4,690,675; 4,583,976; 4,333,468; 4,142,527; 4,120,304; 3,977,407; 3,826,254; 3,713,448 4,327,716; 4,569,348; 4,671,787; 4,799,923; 4,822,342; 5,038,778; 5,042,477; 5,135,506; 5,163,914; and 5,306,233.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an endotracheal tube holding device for securing the position of an endotracheal tube.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an endotracheal tube holding device for securing the position of an endotracheal tube which utilizes friction and pressure to hold the endotracheal tube as well as adhesive surface bonding.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an endotracheal tube holding device for securing the position of an endotracheal tube which can be used with both orally exiting endotracheal tubes and nasal exiting endotracheal tubes.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an endotracheal tube holding device for securing the position of an endotracheal tube which can be quickly and easily installed and which allows subsequent adjustment of the position of the tube after initial installation.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an endotracheal tube holding device for securing the position of a endotracheal tube which is inexpensive to manufacture such that it is economically disposable.